ANN ARBOR -- Looking at a minefield ahead, conventional wisdom painted Michigan's Jan. 22 home game against Iowa as a must-win.

It appeared, far and away, as the most manageable obstacle in a brutal three-game stretch against three would-be top 10 teams. The Iowa game was bookended by road games at Wisconsin and Michigan State -- two teams combining for a 33-2 record at the time.

But then unranked Michigan, a solid underdog, knocked off the third-ranked Badgers, 77-70, in Madison. The Wolverines were handed house money for the remainder of the two-game stretch.

Back in the top 25 to begin the past week, No. 21 Michigan hosted No. 10 Iowa on a snowy Wednesday night in Ann Arbor. A 75-67 win validated the victory at Wisconsin.

Two up, two down turned the so-called daunting stretch into a season highlight.

The Wolverines are the first team since 1996-97 to win three straight regular-season game against top-10 teams.

“I remember, and I try not to read, but I remember reading just a week ago people saying -- we were 4-0 at that point (in the Big Ten) and had this stretch -- and they’re saying, ‘Oh, they’re gonna fall off the map now, they’re about to lose some game,’” Michigan's Nik Stauskas said Saturday night. “It just shows the resilience of this team. We’re never going to quit and we’re always going to keep fighting.”

Now comes the fallout, or fall-up, as it would be.

Michigan entered the three-game stretch with an RPI of 48 and a strength of schedule rating of 97.

At 15-4 overall, the Wolverines are now 5-3 versus RPI top 50 teams. The losses are to teams ranked 16 or higher. The lone outlier on the résumé is a November loss to Charlotte in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The 49ers are 12-7 with an RPI of 112.

Now 7-0 in the Big Ten, Michigan is off to its best start in league play since 1976-77 and on a nine-game winning streak overall.

Coach John Beilein's offense is the reason. The Wolverines are averaging 75.1 points, 15.4 assists, 7.7 made 3s and 1.20 points per possession in the win steak.

The ongoing upswing will likely translate to a significant jump in Monday's Associated Press poll. Michigan could enter a top 10 that it just dismantled.